Department ofMathematics

Brisilda Ndreka accepted to the University of Connecticut for her Ph.D

I came to City College as an international student about two years ago. I can perfectly remember the first day at CCNY where I struggled with the smallest things such as finding the classroom I was located in for that day. From that day, I see myself continuing my PhD at the University of Connecticut, where I will continue my studies in the Statistics Department.

Looking back at these past years, when I put the memories I have together, it is clear that I have been very lucky. I have had the privilege to work with amazing professors, have helpful friends, and overall been surrounded by great and welcoming people.
I am beyond grateful for all of my professors whom I would like to say thank you to the following people

Professor Shirshendu Chatterjee who was my statistics professor and mentor in the summer research project. Thank you, for giving me a hand when I needed it the most! The patience you possess and trust you give were two qualities that made my journey with you an honorable and important one. You believed that I had potential even when you struggled to understand my ideas, since my communication was extremely poor. Your assistance and dedication inspired me to work even harder.

Professor Zajj Daugherty - Thank you for your support that has lasted since the first day of being in your class all the way to giving me amazing advice you gave for the PhD application.

A warm thank you to Professor Blair Davey, Professor Bianca Santoro, and Professor Jack Hanson. Thank you so much for your recommendations, advice, and for being such an inspiration to me. Honestly, I feel since I am now a part of the academy, I look up to each of you as a role model.
I also want to thank Professor Thea Pignataro and Professor Stanley Ocken for believing and giving me the opportunity to be a lecturer in the Math Department. I will keep this with me throughout my life as one of the most valuable experiences I have been through.

Thank you so much to Jason Redman for informing me about multiple crucial moments including a scholarship, job opportunities, the teaching process and more. Jason, I truly admire the patience that you possess. When I kept asking you an extensive number of questions each day you always calmly explained, even if it took multiple tries for me to understand it. You are definitely one of the people that made my life easier at CCNY.

A great thank you for George Braithwaite who is one of the nicest people that I have met in my life. You have always been so helpful and so positive! According to George, he is like this because he was born where negative numbers were not invented. You are undeniably an amazing person that I will miss so extremely much.

Finally, a huge thank you to my friends. Thank you for your advice and collaboration. I wish you only the best!